Perfect Lies by Kiersten White

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White    
Release Date - February 18, 2014
Publisher Website - Harper Collins
Publisher Social Media - Twitter/Facebook/SavvyReader
Pages - 232 pages
My Rating - 3.5/5
**received in exchange for an honest review from the publisher**

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

Annie and Fia are ready to fight back.

The sisters have been manipulated and controlled by the Keane Foundation for years, trapped in a never ending battle for survival. Now they have found allies who can help them truly escape. After faking her own death, Annie has joined a group that is plotting to destroy the Foundation. And Fia is working with James Keane to bring his father down from the inside.

But Annie's visions of the future can't show her who to trust in the present. And though James is Fia's first love, Fia knows he's hiding something. The sisters can rely only on each other - but that may not be enough to save them

How far would you go to protect your family? How much would you sacrifice? For Fia and Annie the answer is everything. Fia and Annie are willing to kill to protect each other. Mind Games showed us the strength of their bond. Perfect Lies tests it. A compelling conclusion to this duology that delivered fantastic character development, but left me desperate for more backstory.

Annie changes quite a bit in this installment. As she learns to live for herself, and not be dependent on Fia, a strength emerges. It's something that was always there, but was unleashed when she realized it was within her. I felt like I got to know her character in a way that I didn't in the first one. She quickly became one of my favourites as we were let into her world.

Fia retains the qualities that endeared her to me in the first one. She's someone who follows her instincts, and worries about the consequences later. Seeing her hit rock bottom is crushing. The main thing you want for Fia is for her to depend on herself. She depends on others to keep herself together. Fia, and James are both used a crutch. The pain, and guilt she feels are just barely kept at bay with the coping mechanisms she uses. Fia's story is one that doesn't lend itself to a happily ever after, even if you wish she could have one, and her character captures this perfectly.

The romance in this novel is just as broken as you would expect. When secrets and lies dictate your life, any romance will be shrouded in the same. Fia and James exist on a knife's edge. Annie's tepid, and careful nature shows itself in her romance as well. Seeing Annie fall in love was one of my favourite parts of the story, because it helps her on the path to independence.

The school founded by the Keane Foundation, and the foundation itself, are still a tantalizing mystery. I wanted more details. I wanted to learn more about James' mother and her part in everything. I wanted to learn the beginnings of this school, and how it quickly grew into what it is for Annie and Fia. This was the only aspect that didn't quite meet my expectations. I just wanted so much more from this part of the story.

The ending is perfectly imperfect. It's an ending that fits not only the characters, but the story itself. It provides enough closure that you're content with it, but doesn't shove these characters into any boxes. If anything is clear, it's that these characters defy categories, and the ending keeps in line with that.

A novel that focuses on the strengths of sisterly bonds, and provides us with two broken, and compelling female characters. It provided enough character development to satisfy, but left me begging for more from the world building. Perfect Lies provides a fitting in to this duology, but left many questions unanswered.

New To My Book Closet

It's that time of the week again. Time to show you what bookish goodies made their way into my home and book closet (to be saved from the evil book eating cat monster named Aria). This is inspired by the various "mailbox" posts out there (eg. In My Mailbox by The Story Siren, and Stacking the Shelves by Tynga's Reviews).

Another week of awesome books! My mailbox was packed on filled with awesome books!

Unforgotten by Jessica Brody (goodreads)

Perfect Lies by Kiersten White (goodreads)

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkosi (goodreads)
Starling by Fiona Paul (goodreads)

Huge thank you to Raincoast Books and Harper Collins Canada for the lovely books I received this week. I was beyond thrilled to see The Winner's Curse in my package. The ARC of The Winner's Curse is beautiful. I can only image how pretty the hardcover is going to be.

Huge thank you Jessica for lending me Starling! I can not wait to see how this series ends.

Cress by Marissa Meyer (goodreads) forgot to include this one before! Thanks Katherine!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver (goodreads) 

Four Seconds To Lose by K.A. Tucker (goodreads)

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige *CHAPTER SAMPLER* (goodreads)

Huge thank you to Simon and Schuster Canada for Four Seconds To Lose! Excited to start reading it!

Cress is amazing! It's everything I wanted it to be, and I can't wait to post my review! A big thank you to Katherine for lending me her copy. The Dorothy Must Die chapter sampler was something I read almost right away and I am curious as to where this story is going to go. I like what I've read so far!

Before I Fall is signed! Lauren Oliver came to Ottawa and she is super lovely in person. I hadn't read this one yet so I purchased a copy to have her sign. It'll get read/reviewed sometime in January (hopefully).

Hope you had a fantastic book haul this week too!

Happy Reading, and Happy Weekend!

Weekly Obsessions

The awesome Kelly at KellyVision started posting a weekly post highlighting whatever she happened to be obsessed with that week. I LOVE this idea, so much in fact that I will be doing it myself every Saturday.

Here are my obsessions this week:

BOOKS

Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Just finished this late last night, and words cannot even describe how good it is. The writing, the plot, the way everything unfolds. I will not say too much (want to save it for my review) but this book is going to be on a lot of beaches come it's August release date. 

Cover of Her Dark Curiosity by Megan Shepherd

I thought The Madman's Daughter had a pretty cover, but Her Dark Curiosity has outdone even that. It's the dress, the London backdrop, and the way the model stands out against everything. It automatically catches your eye. Needless to say after reading the INTRIGUING synopsis I am dying to get my hands on this book.

Cover of Perfect Lies by Kiersten White

 The sequel to Mind Games has a cover that matches, and is also awesome. I loved the Mind Games cover, and this one is equally eye catching. The synopsis was also released, and it sounds like it'll be an exciting conclusion to this duology.

Cover of Defy by Sara B Larson

The premise of this one caught my attention. Just read the synopsis and you'll be pining too! I love that she disguises herself as a boy to be part of the Prince's guard. The love triangle mention has me a little leery, but if done well they can be a fantastic plot point. I love the mixture of rose with the sword imagery this title uses. It's a nod to the main character, and it's genre.

Cover of Manor of Secrets by Katherine Longshore

I have loved all of Katherine's previous novels, and I can't wait to get my hands on this one. It's been compared to Downton Abbey and I do love historical fiction, especially with a fantastic sounding synopsis. I think this is going to be a fun read.

TV


Primetime Emmy Awards pre-nomination voting

 The ballots to determine who will be nominated at this year's Emmy Awards were made available this past week. I become obsessed with the actual nomination themselves, but this year the pre-nomination voting has caught my attention. There are so many amazing performances that deserved to be recognized. High up on that list for me is Freddie Highmore for his performance as Norman Bates in Bates Motel. He, surprisingly, was put forward in the supporting category. I do think this helps his chances of getting a nomination, but it's a weird choice as his role is pretty much the lead in the series. I can't wait until the official nominations are announced in July.


So what are you obsessed with this week?